Honestly, I'm more of a forager than a gardener. I love hiking and foraging allows for a serene walking meditation that I've always really enjoyed. That said, I am my mother's daughter and my mother is an epic gardener. I do enjoy the work and can never leave her house in the spring or summer without at least one new plant from her in tow. While I have over a dozen herbs in my garden this year this year, these three are my favorite to grow and use.

Bee balm. Also known as oswego tea, wild bergamot, or monarda. Because this herb is not easy to find dried, attracts both bees and butterflies, and grows easily in all kinds of conditions, it's one I always recommend for a garden. The firework flowers open mid to late summer and can be added to salads or teas along with the leaves. It supports digestion, is relaxing, has volatile oils that can help stave off infection, and tastes great. While not at all minty, it is a type of mint and will spread.

Lemon balm. Another herbalist described this one to me as "sunshine in a cup," and it is. It both tastes summery and brightens up a low or dark mood. It can help relieve tension, especially a tense stomach, making it great for digestion. I'll often munch on in it in the garden or pick some and add then to a cup of hot water for a quick tea fix. Also a mint, this one can take over a garden if left unchecked.

Dill. The ultimate summer herb (although... ooh, basil...). I put dill on almost everything I eat in the summer It too is wonderful for indigestion. The leafy parts or seeds can be chewed or made into a tea to also help with bad breath!

(Columbus Underground published this article of mine on 1/3/2017 as part of their series on healthy living habits for the new year)

Once the excitement and buzz of the holidays are over, and we realize that we’re (at least!) three months from spring, it can be hard to follow through on our new year’s resolutions. Incorporating one or a few of these five herbs into your daily routine can help protect against the winter blues that keep you from feeling motivated to follow through with your goals.

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)

This is a delightfully summery type of mint, with a citrusy taste. It can help soothe anxiety, tension, and mild depression, and its uplifting nature can balance seasonal affective disorder. It helps with digestion as well, especially when related to stress. It’s also appropriate for children. Lemon balm is lovely steeped in hot water by itself or with other herbs. Bonus: because it’s a mint, it’s incredibly easy to grow in a pot yourself.

Rose (Rosa rugosa or Rosa damascena)

Think about how your body relaxes when you deeply inhale an especially aromatic rose. A heart-opening herb, Rose helps with anxiety and feelings of depression or grief. It can be added to a tea or infused into an incredible-smelling body oil. Make sure that you are getting your herbs from a good source, such as Boline Apothecary in Clintonville or mountainroseherbs.com, because this is not the same type of rose that you find at the florist.

Catnip (Nepeta cataria)

While it is a tasty, relaxing, tension-relieving herb for humans, this is indeed the same herb that is a stimulant for cats. However, the pet store stuff is of the lowest quality, little more than green dust. High quality catnip, also an easy-to-grow mint, tastes great in a tea and blends well with lemon balm. And, like lemon balm, it also helps stomach aches and is safe for children.

Ashwaganda (Withania somnifera)

When taken regularly, this Ayurvedic (an ancient Indian system of healing) herb can rejuvenate the body and help it recover from symptoms of stress and fatigue. It can also aid in normalizing cortisol levels and irregular sleep patterns caused by stress. While the previous herbs act directly on the nervous system, ashwaganda changes the body’s response to stress by regulating hormones. This is often taken as a tincture in a dropper bottle and can be found at health food stores.

Holy Basil/Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum)

A well-loved Ayurvedic herb, Holy Basil balances hormones, aiding the body with the effects of stress when taken regularly over time. It’s easy to grow and delightfully tasty. A good way to “take” holy basil is to grab a leaf to chew or drink it in a tea.

If you were to look out the back window of my mother’s house you would see that her flower gardens are endless, claiming territory in the grass and fading back into the forest that surrounds the house. It’s unclear where her garden ends and the native wildflowers begin, particularly because because of the native bee balm (botanical name Monarda) that grows in shocks of red and pink and lavender beyond her reach. While bee balm flowers are spectacular with their fireworks of color, It’s the intoxicating fragrance and history as a medicinal flower that excite me most.

red Monarda Didyma flowers

Using Monarda

Many Native American tribes drank a tea made of Monarda didyma (also known as Oswego tea) to break fevers and aid digestion, and used the leaves externally as an antiseptic. White settlers gave another type of bee balm, Monarda fistulosa, the moniker Wild Bergamot after noticing its lovely citrus-y flavor and smell. One of my favorite summer drinks is a tea made from Monarda fistulosa flowers and leaves mixed with traditional tea leaves, a homemade Earl Grey.

pink Monarda fistulosa

Growing Monarda

If you examine a Monarda plant closely, you’d find it has a square stem, characteristic of plants in the mint family. Any above-ground portion of the plant can be used in a tea, though I’m partial to the color and magic that using flowers brings to any tea or medicine. I have found that they do well regardless of whether they’re growing in full sun or in the forest, so no excuse if your garden has been too shady for flowers in the past.

The flowers also have the distinction of driving bees mad with pleasure. Plant Monarda to draw and excite the butterflies and bees you want pollinating your garden. Determine which species are native to your area and plant them to become a true steward of the land.

Plantain Leaf / Plantago major & Plantago lanceolata

Actions: Diuretic, alterative, anti-inflammatory, aperient

No, this isn't the banana-like fruit. Yes, this is the plant that is almost as common in your grass as dandelion, and yes it's medicinal.

I love introducing people to this plant because it's so prevalent and immediately usable. If you're working or walking outside and get bitten or stung find some plantain, chew or mash the leaf up, and stick it on to soothe the spot and draw anything out.. I infused plantain into the oil for my hand salve because it works so well at soothing the skin.

An infusion of the leaves in water tastes rich and green and can be used for soothing inflammation-- coughs, urinary tract infections, mild bronchitis. The seeds can be used for constipation.

Chaparral Leaf / Larrea tridentata

Using the Herb: This is one of the best herbs one can use against bacteria, viruses, and parasites. I also feature this herb in my anti-fungal salve. I had athlete's foot for about six weeks and went through two tubes of conventional cream before I decided to make an herbal salve. I have no idea why it took so long for me to make it... I suppose I still heard the whispers of mother culture telling me that an herbal remedy couldn't possibly be as potent. The salve worked in three days. Herbal medicine often is slow and gentle in its work but sometimes it's so much more effective.

In addition to other uses, chaparral also helps to take drugs out of the system, especially LSD. I'm so intrigued by this and want to read more research about why it works in this way.

Finally, it tastes incredibly strong. Astringent doesn’t even begin to describe it! For that reason I personally am going to stick to using it externally and use other herbs internally for now!

Valerian / Valeriana officinalis

Parts Used: Use the root, but don’t boil it! It's too high in volatile oils and you'll lose some of the goodness if you boil it. Make an infusion if you want to drink it as a tisane. If you are growing or harvesting your own, harvest the roots in the fall.

Personal: I have an intense appreciation for this powerfully quieting and soothing herb that has helped to quiet my racing mind many times. For years, if I was too excited or nervous to fall asleep I would take a capsule or dropperful of valerian root and I would finally be able to finally drift off when nothing else could help. In the morning I would feel refreshed, not groggy. Brilliant. In addition to helping with stress, valerian also helps the nervous system respond to pain.

It's a wonderful plant, but beware of the plant's strong dirty sock smell. Though you can take it as an infusion it's far more palatable as a tincture or capsule to minimize your experience of the taste and smell.